Identity Theft

Protect your information and financial assets

At M&G, we’re dedicated to helping you protect your financial information and assets against criminals who specialise in identity theft.

Your identity and personal information are extremely valuable to you – and to criminals. Fraudsters are constantly looking to exploit individuals who innocently give away too much information or provide them with an opportunity to steal it for their own personal gain.

Criminals can use your personal details to:

Open a bank account

Apply for a credit card, loan, passport or driver’s licence

Purchase goods and services in your name

Use the information to access or take control of your financial assets such as your bank account

There are some practical common sense rules that can be followed to protect your information in key areas and ultimately help to keep your financial assets safe.

Social media

Don’t publish personal details that you wouldn’t normally share in public such as telephone numbers, bank details, passwords, date of birth or address

Check the website’s privacy options and set them so that only people you choose can view your profile and personal information

Ensure that you know who you are adding as a friend or contact

Avoid using the same password for multiple sites and never use the same password as your M&G ‘My Account’ facility or online banking accounts. If your password is compromised for one site then it will be compromised for them all.

Try to pick a username that includes no personal information and register using a separate email account that doesn’t use your real name

Unsolicited contact

If you receive a telephone call out of the blue, never give out any personal information. If the caller claims to be from a legitimate company, call them back on their publicly listed telephone number to verify the call. If you have any doubts, hang up.

Don’t respond to unsolicited post or emails as these are likely to be phishing scams with the aim of obtaining your personal information. Remember M&G and other financial institutions will not ask customers to confirm account details by email.

If someone calls at your house, ask for identification before giving any information or letting them in. If necessary, contact the organisation they claim to represent using their publicly listed telephone number and check if they are genuine.

Remember you do not have to let a stranger into your house. If you are suspicious, call the Police.

Financial information

Check financial statements as soon as they arrive and contact the company concerned immediately if any unfamiliar transactions are listed

Get regular copies of your personal credit file from a credit reference agency - see 'report your suspicions' - to see which financial institutions have accessed your details. If you find anything that you don’t recognise, let the credit reference agency know straight away.

If you’re expecting correspondence from a financial institution and it doesn’t arrive, contact them immediately to inform them of your concerns

If you receive a letter acknowledging a change of your investment or contact details and you did not instruct this, query this immediately with the company that sent it as it may be that someone else has made the amendment and the letter has been sent to you as a security control

Report your suspicions

If you think you have become a victim or are at risk of identity theft, it’s important to act quickly:

Report lost or stolen cards, cheque books, financial or utility statements and identity documents to the issuer immediately and inform them of your concern

If you find out that someone has opened a bank account or obtained credit in your name, contact the company concerned immediately. Report the matter to law enforcement. This can be done in a number of ways:

Action Fraud – the UK’s national fraud reporting centre can be contacted online at Action Fraud or by telephone on 0300 123 2040

Remember to tell your bank that you are a victim of fraud, even if they are not involved, so that they can monitor your account(s) more closely.

If you believe that you are at risk from identity theft or have actually become a victim, you can also apply for protective registration with the UK’s fraud prevention service, CIFAS. This alerts members of CIFAS to the fraud so that they can take extra care when dealing with credit applications using your personal information.

If you have an investment with M&G and are concerned about the security of your account information contact us immediately.

For more information on identity theft, visit the following useful websites:

Out and about

Keep your personal belongings such as wallet, purse, and mobile phone out of sight and reach of thieves

Online safety

Keep your online passwords safe by choosing different passwords for the different websites you use and by changing them regularly.

Use a combination of letters, numbers and other characters where possible – refer to our website terms and conditions for your responsibilities in keeping your ‘My Account’ PIN safe.

See our how to protect yourself online information to ensure you are aware of the common threats to you and your information whilst on the internet, and to understand the steps you can take to protect yourself from them

Document storage and disposal

Keep personal documents in a secure and safe place

Be aware of what information you leave in your work area, especially if you work in a busy environment such as an office

Shred all documents containing personal information before throwing them away

Don’t leave bills, statements, or any other documents containing personal information on the street in rubbish sacks, especially if they are transparent

Post

Ensure there is a genuine reason for posting personal details such as your bank account information, national insurance number or date of birth

If you receive post containing personal or financial information that appears to have been opened already, contact the sender straight away to let them know

When you move home, make sure that Royal Mail redirects your post and inform your bank, card issuer, and any other organisations that you deal with immediately

If post arrives at your address for someone you don’t know, contact the sender to find out why

If you live in a property where other people could have access to your mail, take extra care. Banks and credit card companies can sometimes arrange for you to collect valuable items such as new cards or cheque books from a local branch.

If you notice that you are not receiving mail, check if it’s been redirected or held without your knowledge

Royal Mail provides a variety of options to redirect or report the loss or theft of any mail. Contact Royal Mail on the customer enquiries line on 08457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website.